The costs between buying and selling.

Your potential margin starts with the gap between purchase and resale. Your profit starts after the costs.

Before collection

List inspection, vehicle-history checks, travel and collection costs. Use actual quotations where available, particularly when a vehicle is far from home.

Preparation and uncertainty

Separate known work — tyres, brakes, servicing, valeting and cosmetics — from a reserve for problems you have not yet established. Avoid counting the same repair in both allowances.

While you own the car

Include insurance, storage, advertising and any financing costs that apply. Consider how the calculation changes if the car takes longer to sell.

Your time and the final result

Record your hours alongside the cash calculation. Flipi’s calculator shows an operating result before income or corporation tax and does not calculate VAT. A positive result is not a guarantee that buying the car is sensible.